Movie madness!
Robin Hood - (B+): Director Ridley Scott's new take on a very familiar legend. Except this doesn't take place during the time where Robin Hood was actually Robin Hood. This film is about the events that led Robin Hood into becoming the Robin Hood of legend. A prequel story. The main basic problem with this movie is that feels kind of pointless. It would be one thing if the movie championed itself as being strictly about how Robin hood was created, but it kind of doesn't. How he comes Robin hood is actually rushed through at the end of the iflm, and the rest of the build up just isn't there. This is more of a story of a brave man doing something brave. It mostly resembles Scott's brilliant Kingdom of Heaven, but nowhere near as good as that one. And i mean the director's cut of King of Heaven, not the butchered theatrical cut. So the movie doesn;t really stand well on it's own, and when it ends, it literally BEGS for a sequel. As a result, it feels a bit incomplete. Still, the story told within is actually a good one, and the plot which ont he surface seems warped and tangles, actually makes perfect sense. All of the actors are great, including Russell Crowe as the title character.. Fightin' round the world! he battle sequences are of course huge and epic in scale, and Scott knows how to film them with precision and skill. It's an entertaining, well worth seeing film. but without a sequel, it just feels incomplete and pointless. Worthy of a netflix rental, or see it in the theater if your in need to see something.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - (B) A large scale, big budget video game adaptation. It turns out as well as you could expect. It isn't the instant classic Disney was clearly hoping it would be, like Pirates of the Caribbean was, but it's a really fun fantasy adventure flick. Main problem is the script is rather trite, and has a been there seen that feeling to it, and the editing is very choppy in places. Scene's just jump into one another without warning. The action sequences are well done though, and the actors are all game, especially Jake Gyllenhaal who does a much better then expected performance. It's a purely entertaining fantasy flick, doesn't require any brain power and it doesn't offend any of the senses. Good for a bored Sunday afternoon.
The Road - (B-): Tale about a post apocalyptic world where a father and son travel trying to reach the coast while avoiding cannibals all along the streets. It sounds more exciting then it actually is. This movie's main problem is that most of it's scenes tend to be rather pointless. There is also essentially no plot what so ever. The movie is basically about the relationship between the father and his child, but it is simply overshadowed by the epic scale background. The horrors of what the world has become are only shown fleetingly and when necessary. The cannibals for instance. They come and go too quickly to ever pose real tension. The movie tries desperately to connect on an emotional level but it doesn't;t really quite reach it, which makes the ending less impactful then it should have been. I think more of a focus on the struggle to stay alive, how they manage it, and how desperate things are would have been better. The movie only ever touches on all these things, never focuses on them. The acting is superb, especially by Viggo Mortenson, and the movie looks spectacular. The desolate, and realistic view of a ruined world is horrific to behold. Definitely worth a watch, but it isn't a feel good movie at all. So be in the right mind set.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - (B) A large scale, big budget video game adaptation. It turns out as well as you could expect. It isn't the instant classic Disney was clearly hoping it would be, like Pirates of the Caribbean was, but it's a really fun fantasy adventure flick. Main problem is the script is rather trite, and has a been there seen that feeling to it, and the editing is very choppy in places. Scene's just jump into one another without warning. The action sequences are well done though, and the actors are all game, especially Jake Gyllenhaal who does a much better then expected performance. It's a purely entertaining fantasy flick, doesn't require any brain power and it doesn't offend any of the senses. Good for a bored Sunday afternoon.
The Road - (B-): Tale about a post apocalyptic world where a father and son travel trying to reach the coast while avoiding cannibals all along the streets. It sounds more exciting then it actually is. This movie's main problem is that most of it's scenes tend to be rather pointless. There is also essentially no plot what so ever. The movie is basically about the relationship between the father and his child, but it is simply overshadowed by the epic scale background. The horrors of what the world has become are only shown fleetingly and when necessary. The cannibals for instance. They come and go too quickly to ever pose real tension. The movie tries desperately to connect on an emotional level but it doesn't;t really quite reach it, which makes the ending less impactful then it should have been. I think more of a focus on the struggle to stay alive, how they manage it, and how desperate things are would have been better. The movie only ever touches on all these things, never focuses on them. The acting is superb, especially by Viggo Mortenson, and the movie looks spectacular. The desolate, and realistic view of a ruined world is horrific to behold. Definitely worth a watch, but it isn't a feel good movie at all. So be in the right mind set.